Global Entreprenuership Program Newsletter

Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs

January 23, 2012

Inside This Issue

About the GEP
The Global entrepreneurship Program is a U.S. State Department-led effort to promote and spur entrepreneurship around the world. The U.S. Department of State has the unique ability to play the role of convener, coordinator and connector.

The great anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said: “Never doubt that a small, committed group of people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

That inspiring insight perfectly describes the group we have assembled as GEP partners and our work together to foster entrepreneurship as a path to peace and prosperity. 2011 saw historic changes in many countries motivated by a search for dignity and economic opportunity. Our work could not be more timely.

With full support from Secretary Clinton, Under Secretary Hormats, Assistant Secretary Jose Fernandez, and Special Representative Lorraine Hariton, our GEP community has evolved, launched new initiatives, and celebrated successes.

GEP 2.0: Our most important change is that we are launching GEP 2.0, to make the Global Entrepreneurship Program truly global. We reached out to our embassies and consulates and found that over half of them were already engaged in activities supporting entrepreneurship. By connecting them to our 125 partners, internal and external, we plan to leverage their activities for the benefit of more entrepreneurs around the world. Stay tuned for more on how we plan to do this.

GEP Turkey: Together with our in-country partners like Endeavor Turkey and MIT Enterprise Forum, we launched our program in Turkey at the second annual Global Summit on Entrepreneurship hosted by Turkey’s Prime Minister. We were honored to have Vice President Biden with us at the Summit. This gathering of over one thousand entrepreneurs from throughout the extended region demonstrated the power and potential of entrepreneurship to transform the region. We look forward to building on this success.

GEP Maghreb: We led a very successful entrepreneurship delegation to Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, from October 26-November 2 this year, to energize entrepreneurship activities and promote a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in each country. With the enthusiasm and leadership of our Special Representative for Commercial and Busienss Affairs, Lorraine Hariton, 16 entrepreneurs and diaspora representatives joined our delegation. (More info below)

GEP Partners’ Meeting: In partnership with USAID, on September 21, we held the first Partner Meeting, at the State Department to introduce our strategy for the coming year, and roll-out an on-line Entrepreneurship Toolkit.

Women’s Entrepreneurship programs: As previous director of the Global Women’s Business Initiative (GWBI) and current director of the GEP, I am pleased to announce that we have integrated the GWBI into the GEP.

All around the world, we see a true global entrepreneurship revolution taking place as people everywhere take the initiative to boost economic prosperity and realize their dreams. We have many exciting plans for 2012 and look forward to sharing them with you, learning what you are doing, and engaging with you to have an even bigger impact going forward.

We hope 2012 brings about the fulfillment of many dreams, along with the changes we all want to see in the world.

Warm regards,
Shelly Porges
Senior Advisor and Director, Global Entrepreneurship Program Office of Commercial & Business Affairs
Bureau of Economics and Business Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Maghreb Entrepreneurship Delegation

On October 27 - November 2, Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Lorraine Hariton led a delegation of Maghreb diaspora entrepreneurs, early stage investors from Silicon Valley, university representatives and NGO leaders to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as part of the Partners for a New Beginning U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (PNB-NAPEO). Representatives from USAID, OPIC, and the Aspen Institute also joined the delegation.

This delegation showcased the talent of young innovators in the region and highlighted entrepreneurship as an exciting job opportunity for youth. The 20 most promising start-ups in each country were pre-selected by the PNB-NAPEO local network and advisory boards. These startups received mentoring and training from delegates, participated in a business plan competition, and heard from role model diaspora entrepreneurs. The culminating event of the delegation was the selection of three winning start-ups from each country, received a four-month business incubation and entrepreneurship scholarship in Detroit, Michigan. The prize was courtesy of TechTown Incubator, Wayne State University, and the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Detroit.

And the winners are...

The Moroccan winner--Yassine El Kachchani Founder of LaCartePlz.ma--a 24-year old entrepreneur, who created a mobile application for the Moroccan restaurant industry, told us: “I am really excited about this opportunity; this is really life changing in a very positive way.”

The winner in Algeria--Youghourta Benali is the Founder of Walletix--is an innovative 25-year old of Berber origins from an interior region whose company could be a breakthrough interim electronic payment system solution for Algeria where e-commerce doesn’t yet exist.

The winner in Tunisia--Professor Souad Rouis, Founder of BiotechRDP--is a female professor whose biotech company is the first of its kind in Tunisia focusing on vaccines and diagnostic kits.

What is GEP’s next step?

Just as we did in Egypt, Indonesia, and Turkey, we are planning to introduce an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the Maghreb region to build on the enthusiasm and momentum created by the delegation. To this end, we are working with USAID, partnering with organizations in the region, and coordinating with the PNB-NAPEO Boards.

Many thanks to the sponsors, who donated the incubation/scholarship prize, and the delegates (in the list below), who volunteered their time and donated their travel expenses to ensure that the delegation was a success! We have heard from many aspiring Maghreb entrepreneurs that the delegation was life-changing for them, and we will be working over the next few months to maintain the positive momentum on entrepreneurship that the delegation generated.

Save the Date! PNB-NAPEO will have their upcoming conference as a follow-on to this delegation and to strenghten our activities in the Maghreb region! JANUARY 16-18, 2012 MARRAKESH, MOROCCO

Second Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Turkey

The second annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit was held in Istanbul December 3-5, 2011. A follow-on to the Summit hosted by President Obama in Washington, D.C., in 2010, this year’s summit was hosted by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. Vice President Biden opened the Summit to a crowd of more than 3,000 participants from more than 30 countries.

Dozens of GEP partners were able to attend the 2011 Summit, and many spoke on panels, participated in side events, and addressed the closing ceremonies. GEP Director Shelly Porges joined a panel on women’s entrepreneurship, along with women from Turkey, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg shared “Ten Myths of Entrepreneurship” with Summit attendees. She also spoke about the importance of celebrating entrepreneurs, one of GEP’s six pillars. David Monkman, President of the National Business Incubation Association, spoke on a panel and held a roundtable to share the experiences of NBIA’s more than 1,900 members.

Several organizations brought scores of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to the Summit. CRDF Global and the State Department’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative brought 25 semi-finalists in their Technology Innovation (“Tech-I”) competition to Istanbul for three days of mentoring, pitch training, and presenting to an international panel of judges. Tech-I winners garnered $60,000 in prize money, with the $20,000 first prize going to a Lebanese team.

AllWorld Network presented awards to the fastest growing companies in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey. AllWorld’s Arabia Fast Growth 500 and Turkey Fast Growth 25 identified young companies with the fastest growing sales in the region. The U.S. Embassy in Turkey also hosted a Youth Summit with more than 150 participants from 10 countries. Teams participated in product fair and business development workshops, and heard from speakers such as Entrepreneurs’ Organization Chairman Kevin Langley and the Secretary’s Special Advisor for Youth Issues, Ronan Farrow.

On the final day of the Summit, Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), joined the State Department’s Special Representative for Commercial & Business Affairs, Lorraine Hariton, to offer thanks to the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV). Ussal Sahbaz of TEPAV serves as GEP’s Entrepreneurin-Residence in Turkey and coordinated closely with the Prime Minister’s office as the Summit host.

Where will the Next Global Entrepreneurship Summit be?

The United Arab Emirates will host the third annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in fall of 2012. UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansoori announced the 2012 Summit during the opening ceremonies of the Istanbul Summit. Also during the opening ceremonies, Vice President Biden announced that the U.S. Department of State had signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) to partner in the planning and hosting of the Summit in the years to come. Jonathan Ortmans, GEW President, gave an invigorating address during the closing ceremonies of the Istanbul Summit to welcome the new partnership to the annual celebration of entrepreneurship in more than 120 countries.

GEP Partner Event

On September 21, the GEP held a half-day event at the State Department to introduce its strategy for the coming year (GEP 2.0), roll-out an on-line Entrepreneurship Toolkit, and encourage networking between partners and with USG agencies. About 70 representatives from 40 partner organizations joined officers from State, USAID, and OPIC. Lorraine Hariton, State’s Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, gave opening remarks on recent GEP accomplishments, including successful entrepreneurship delegations to Egypt and Indonesia and upcoming events in Turkey and the Maghreb. The new USAID Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture, Trade, Eric Postel, welcomed guests and discussed USAID’s new directions in entrepreneurship programming around the world, with particular emphasis on activities in Pakistan, Egypt, and Indonesia.

USAID contractors from Weidemann Associates unveiled the Toolkit, an on-line resource for U.S. Missions abroad with a how-to guide on entrepreneurship programming, tips on best practices, links to funding and research, and case studies of partner activities (http://egateg.usaid.gov/bgi/toolkit). During a panel discussion on USG resources for entrepreneurship, OPIC introduced its Enterprise Development Network, a powerful web-based platform for showcasing global business and entrepreneurship information, such as conferences, grants, and GEP partner activities. We encourage you to visit the website (http://ednaccess.com/) and welcome your feedback on the platform as a possible tool for enhancing the GEP’s mission.

Partners transitioned into break-out sessions to discuss trends and issues in Access to Finance, Technical Assistance, and Entrepreneurial Education. These focus teams are expected to become institutionalized working groups under GEP to identify best practices. Notes from each session are available on request at entrepreneurship@state.gov. State’s Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, Jose W. Fernandez, conveyed his own and the Obama Administration’s passion for supporting entrepreneurship both internationally and domestically in his closing remarks before a networking buffet lunch at State.

Calendar of Events

JANUARY 12: Young Entrepreneur Council invites you to attend a live, video Q&A with Joe Fernandez, Founder of Klout.com. To register, please follow this link: http://global.theyec.org/joefernandez/

JANUARY 16-18: PNB-NAPEO will be hosting their second U.S. – Maghreb Entrepreneurship conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

JANUARY 26 The Michigan Business and Professional Association will host their 2012 Women’s Leadership Conference at the Henry, Dearborn, Michigan. For more information: 888.277.6464. Website: www.michbusiness.org.

MARCH 6-8 Angel Capital Association will be hosting their Annual Summit in Austin, TX. This event is only available for investors, policy makers, and economic development leaders. To register: https://www.technicalconferencesolutions. com/pls/caat/caat_online_registration.process_ demographics?conference_id=100&registration_ type=NORMAL&header_flag=Y&z=19082 (Discounted price for international guests)

MARCH 9-16 The Global Entrepreneurship Congress is doing “A Festival of Entrepreneurship” in Liverpool, UK. For more information, please visit: http://gec. unleashingideas.org/index.asp

MARCH 21-22 The 2012 WBENC Summit & Salute to Women’s Business Enterprises — Celebrating 15 Years: Vision, Opportunities, and Success! will be in Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, MD. Hosted by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). For more information, contact Nicole Gutierrez at 786-888-3209 (e-mail: wbenc@aplusmeetings.com) or visit www.wbenc.org.

MARCH 28-30 The next Global Technology Symposium will occur in Sillicon Valley, CA. To register, please visit: http://www.globaltechsymposium.com/ registration.html

Partner Spotlight: Kauffman Foundation Global Entrepreneurship Week

November 15-19 was Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) and we heard from dozens of embassies and consulates worldwide that planned or participated in GEW activities.

Highlights include:

Embassy Bogota joining the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit in Cali and hosting a four-day program on Tech Transfers, Intellectual Property and Innovation-Based Entrepreneurship.

Embassy Jakarta held a “Shark Tank” (TV series on ABC) business plan competition, where new start-ups pitched their ideas to real investors before a live studio audience.

Embassy Muscat hosted a stakeholder roundtable for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and the business community to discuss challenges to starting a business and how to promote a culture of entrepreneurship.

Embassy Tokyo hosted its second annual U.S. Ambassador’s Award for Entrepreneurship; the winner developed software to organize business cards online.

Here in Washington, officers in the Economic Bureau spoke at and attended several events, including a “D.C. Entrepreneurship Week” kick-off at Georgetown University; a panel discussion at CSIS on the role of entrepreneurship in U.S. development policy; a panel discussion on “Streamlining Innovation: Accelerating Entrepreneurship Abroad” at the Meridian International Center; a panel discussion on entrepreneurship promotion in India, hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE); and the Future of Entrepreneurship Education Summit, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Assistant Secretary Fernandez participated in “Unleashing IdEA,” an event sponsored by the State Department, in cooperation with the IDB, the Kauffman Foundation, and Univision, highlighting Latino entrepreneurship, global diaspora engagement, and tools for entrepreneurs.

Embassy Highlights:

We commend our Embassies and Consulates for all of their hard work joining, planning, and hosting activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW)! We received over forty responses from posts on their GEW activities, and we have chosen to highlight below some of the “best practices” from around the world.

Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) - Budapest: During GEW, the Kairos Society (an international, student-led, nonprofit foundation that promotes entrepreneurship) held a two-day long event where they invited former and current State Department International Visitor and Leadership Program (IVLP) participants. Nancy Smith-Nissley of the State Department’s Economic Bureau spoke via Skype on social entrepreneurship, and Joshua Mandell, a Science and Technology Program Officer at the World Bank, discussed entrepreneurship and development. The two 20-minute lectures were followed by a lively Q&A session. The Embassy also hosted a reception launching the Entrepreneur Foundation, which was founded by recent IVLP alumnus David Maasz.

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) - Lima: In honor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Information Resource Center in Lima hosted a webinar for women business owners featuring two prominent speakers. The first speaker, NGO project coordinator Ximena Querol, spoke about the different programs (like SALTA and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women) and resources that have been specifically created to assist underserved female entrepreneurs. Inés Silva, the owner of a small artisanal crafts company in the north of Peru, gave a testimonial of her experiences in the 10,000 Women program and how it benefited her company and professional development. Over 150 people from ten different regions in Peru and four other countries (Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and the United States) participated in this webinar.

Bureau of African Affairs (AF) - Yaounde: The Embassy sponsored a three-day workshop on the theme of “Entrepreneurship: the Engine of Wealth and Job Creation” during GEW. Ambassador Robert Jackson delivered opening remarks. The workshop also featured presentations by local experts various business related themes, as well as a business plan competition.

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) - Tokyo: Embassy Tokyo sponsored an awards event – the second annual U.S. Ambassador’s Award for Entrepreneurship – in conjunction with GEW. The award finalists participated in a public “Elevator Pitch” event where they presented their ideas and activities to a panel of four judges convened by Japan GEW organizer William Saito. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, the British Council, the MIT Enterprise Forum Japan, and Ernst & Young also presented awards at the joint event. Award winners will receive mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs and other forms of support and recognition.

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) - Kuala Lumpur: The Embassy sponsored the “Click 2.0! Start-Up Kids” entrepreneurship to get secondary school students involved in social entrepreneurship. More than 200 students from the English Access Microscholarship Program and 2 Musleh (Islamic) schools were divided into 4-5 person teams, each mentored by exchange program alumni, to develop and implement social entrepreneurship projects. The projects will be implemented in the weeks following the camp. Prizes will be awarded to the most outstanding projects. At a culminating Barbeque, the ambassador encouraged all the students to focus on the three “E’s” of Entrepreneurship, English, and Exchanges.

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) - Cairo: American entrepreneurial expert Peter Corbett of iStrategy Labs held workshops for young executives and students in Port Said, Zagazig, Suez, and Cairo from November 14-17. Corbett helped hundreds of young business leaders hone their business plans. He focused on new opportunities, particularly in the ICT sector.

African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)

Building on the fact that women are drivers of economic growth and prosperity, the International Visitor Leadership Program at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs brought 40 women entrepreneurs from 36 African nations to the United States for the second African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).

For three weeks, the African women entrepreneurs were provided professional development training and networking opportunities with American counterparts from civil society, corporations, industry associations, non-profit organizations, and business alliances. The people-to-people exchange followed the 2011 African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Conference, which was held in Lusaka, Zambia in June, alongside the 2011 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. Click here for more information on the conference. AWEP is a Department of State partnership among the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, the Bureau of African Affairs, and the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs.

The State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs was well-represented at the event, with the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Deborah McCarthy, the Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Lorraine Hariton, and the Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Program Shelly Porges, in attendance.

Did You Know?

The Global Women’s Business Initiative is now part of GEP! Therefore, in celebration of this new addition to our group, you will see an update on women’s entrepreneurship activities in the upcoming newsletters!

Jacalyn Piatt Spedding is the new Senior Advisor for Global Women’s Business Initiative, and joined GEP as a Franklin Fellow in October 2011. She comes from the retail giant, Walmart Stores, Inc., where she led the Global Women’s Supply Chain Inclusion in Global Sourcing. She brings her expertise in leveraging relationships with corporations, NGOs, multi-laterals, government agencies and academia to build strategic networks that enable women- owned businesses in developing countries to participate in the marketplace and experience economic growth.

Bid-Ask

The “Bid-Ask” Section allows GEP partners to offer resources and/or express a need in order to leverage the group’s resources and capture synergies. Through the exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise, partners can expand their personal knowledge and learning and explore new ways to accomplish the group’s goal of supporting entrepreneurs.

Meet Our New Partner Coordinator in GEP:
Caroline Croft is the senior liaison for the program with all of our partners, and maintains close working relationships to advance global entrepreneurial efforts. Ms. Croft comes to the Economic and Business Bureau after serving a Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

She previously served as the regional advisor on transnational affairs in the Office of Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. At State, Ms. Croft has also served as the Executive director of the U.S. Office of the United Nations; Senior Advisor for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Director of the Arts America Office; and International Programs Director for the White House Millennium Council. She is a former delegate to the UN Conference on the Status of Women.

Before joining the Department of State, she served as the Executive Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation; the Executive Director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; the Director of International Programs for the Congressional Human Rights Foundation; Director of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs at Department of Health and Human Services; and as an advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.

Introducing the Virtual Mentorship Program by the Young Entrepreneur Council Today’s entrepreneurs need more than an idea and a business place to succeed, they need strong mentors. The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is proud to announce its Virtual Mentorship Program, a free collection of online educational resources created by America’s top entrepreneurs. From live videos Q&As, to eMagazines, to original articles and videos, the YEC Virtual Mentorship Program creates a customized educational experience for your organization’s members with marketing support to help you communicate successfully. For more information on the YEC’s Virtual Mentorship Program, please contact Ryan Paugh at ryan@theyec.org, or by phone at 908-797-0891.

MERIC Official Representative for futurethink innovation firm (USA) in Africa and the Middle East (MENA) region - offers its specialized innovation training programs that include: Keynotes, Workshops, e-learning, webinars and fieldtrips. MERIC & futurethink are committed to socio-economic development of the MENA region and thus offers its customized services for competitive pricing.

CEPP is seeking immediate seed funding of $50,000 for a two-year project to develop GENDER-GEDI, a cross-country comparative index capturing both individual and institutional influences on high-growth male and female entrepreneurs. Based on the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), the GENDER GEDI will pinpoint the strengths, weaknesses and bottlenecks for the development of high-growth female entrepreneurs and benchmark progress over time. POC: Dr. Ruta Aidis at raidis@ gmu.edu or +1 703.993.7528 (o); +1 703.220.3380 (cell).

New Ventures Indonesia (NVI) is seeking immediate funding for its continued operations in 2012. NVI is an initiative of the World Resources Institute with The Apex Consulting Group as local partner in Indonesia. NVI supports local sustainable enterprise growth by providing innovative Indonesian entrepreneurs with management training, business advisory services, and access to finance. Functioning as a business accelerator, NVI is working to shift alternative environmental and social markets from the margin to the mainstream and has developed a set of tools to equip tomorrow’s Indonesian business leaders with the skills needed to succeed in these new markets. For more information, please visit our website www.new-ventures.or.id or contact our Country Director, Mr. Simon G. Bell at nvi@ nvindonesia.net or +62 21 515 7792.

Endeavor is a global nonprofit that selects and supports High-Impact Entrepreneurs in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia. Please visit our country pages if interested in applying to be an Endeavor Entrepreneur, or contact us to inquire about mentoring or our new Catalyst sustainability program, a philanthropic vehicle that uses donated capital to allow Endeavor to co-invest in our entrepreneurs.

The Hatchery They are a network of influencers to help monetize companies and charities through the Hatchery’s Sweat Fund. The investment circles are low on women investors. They are seeking women investors interested in the tech sector who would be interested in supporting women lead companies. There are a number that would welcome a woman at the board seat.

Partner Updates

New York Entrepreneur Week has re-branded their company name to “Entrepreneur Week,” as they are now actively creating activites outside the United States. For more information on their programs, please visit: http://www.entrepreneurweek.net/newsroom/

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy (CEPP) warmly invites GEP partners to two special launches for the presentation of the latest Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) 2012 findings. The GEDI 2012 book has expanded to include 79 countries and many shifts in country rankings have taken place. (Please see the calendar of events above for registration information).

The International Council for Small Business will hold their 2012 Conference in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit http://www.icsb2012.org for more information. ICSB hosted several seminars in the past few months, and they are available to view online:

Business Creation & the Bottom Billions. To invest in Gazelles or not? Read more at http://www.icsb.org/article. asp?messageID=848

Technology for Profit and for Good. Discussion available online at http://www.icsb.org/ article.asp?messageID=831.

USAID and Entrepreneur-In-Residence in Egypt, Mike Ducker, invites you to watch this amazing video on the StartUp Weekend in Alexandria: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=A5g8mf9ci0I

STARTUP EGYPT is a new EBF initiative that aims to support entrepreneurship in Egypt through the establishment of an integral system allowing entrepreneurs to interact with economic leaders, the public and private sectors, civil community and young people. It also aims to develop the performance of youth, increasing their awareness of entrepreneurship for economic progress, providing an environment that supports innovation and creativity, and guiding young people to create jobs instead of seeking them. STARTUP EGYPT will help the Egyptian society encourage creativity and innovation, and motivate young people to develop new projects.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES)-funded Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative Technology Idea (TECH-I) Competition finals took place during the Second Global Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by the Turkish Government December 3-5 in Istanbul. GIST received 145 total entries from 21 countries spanning the health, agriculture, energy, and information technology sectors. The 25 semi-finalist teams were selected by online peer voting on their two-minute technology idea videos posted on YouTube.

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